


zvt:- ■ ' ''■■yr ^- 




Cantent 



A Drama in Three Acts, 



Vy 



H.W.GUENTHER 






.*■" 



The Shadow of Content 

by 

-"^^^^ 
H. W;'~Guenther 

Copyright applied for 



BAYLOR UNIVERSITY PRESS 

Waco, Texas 

1922 






Dedicated respectfullv to 

Miss Beatrice Dauphin 



JUL 29 7d 

ClA6i)G268 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 
Dramatis Personae 



Hans, a shepherd boy in the Alps mountains. 

The Fairy. 

Hans' aged father. 



Act I —On the mountain. 
Act II — On the mountain. 
Act III — In the cave. 



Explanation 



HE SHADOW OF CONTENT is an 
allegory in which Hans represents 
mankind and the Fairy that influence 
which ever tries to guide its des- 
tiny. 

The Alpine rose is the key which 
opens the cave of human desires. 

The search for the flower points out the struggle 
of the human race for something better in life. 
The cave shows the splendor of man's dreams. 
It also portrays the vanity of earthly riches. The 
father is presented to remind mankind what it 
owes to the past. 




The Shadow of Content 

ACT I 

Scene I~A beautiful range of mountains in the 
rear. Singing is heard, so that the echo 
grows louder, then fades awag. It is 
earlg morning. George is a gouth, herd- 
ing his father's sheep. After singing for 
some time, he seats himself on a rock, 
and falls into deep meditation. A fair]) 
god-mother, representing Fortune, 
touches him on the shoulder. 

FAIRY 
Ah, little George, 'tis true, 'tis true 
That to some boys the world seems blue. 
Far o'er the hills your heart is set 
Far, far away you long and yet 

GEORGE 
Yes, I am very tired of this, 
The world seems dull, I feel amiss 
That far away in some fair clime 
Is found a grand old world sublime. 
I long for it. 'Tis there we find 
The fairest treasures of every kind 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

FAIRY 
Of every kind. Your boyhood heart 
Is yearning for that treasured mart. 
Dear George 'tis yours. 

GEORGE 

Tis mine indeed, 
The fleecy clouds that o'er me speed 
Sail on; they're free; they're not confined. 
Their course is not at all outhned, 
But boundless as the rolling sea 
They wander on; their lot is free. 

FAIRY 
And free you are, my little boy; 
The whole world sings with you in joy. 
Look how it laughs when you are glad; 
See how chagrined to find you sad. 
George, 'tis within you fate decrees. 
If you are bound, or like the breeze 
You flit on high in realms your own 
Where pangs of force are quite unknown. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

GEORGE 
And still I cannot pine to leave. 
Some force is ever there to cleave 
And whisper, "Little boy, please stay, 
Don't set out on the rocky way 
Of life. Your father, aged with care 
Would have another load to bear. 
Your mother's sleeping on the hill, 

(A dove coos) 

Her mem'ry lives; 'tis with me still: 

These thoughts stand out — stand out so clear 

That they like Uving ghosts appear; 

And oft when evening shadows gleam 

And all at once as in a dream 

I see those gravestones twinkle far; 

Yes, twinkle like the evening star. 

It drives away all love to go. 

FAIRY 
Some inward voice then whispers no? 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

GEORGE 
It whispers no, but with it all, 
I hear the clearer, clarion call. 

FAIRY 

The call that summons you away, 

That would reveal another day. 

George, you are young; youth yearns to roam; 

The child cares little then for home. 

Day after day, this lonely plain 

Caused you to while your hours in vain; 

Slow hours they were from sun to sun. 

GEORGE 
I'm happy when each day is done; 
I'm happy for I feel at rest. 
When brightly glows the golden west. 

FAIRY 
The golden west where God has sown 
The golden grains, and they have grown 
So far, so broad, have grown so high 
That they form pillars to the sky. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

GEORGE 

The lovely sky, where earth below 
Is greeted by the heavenly glow; 
Oft have I fancied I was there. 

FAIRY 

lucky boy, how fair, how fair. 

The fairy disappears and George looks at the 
mountain tops in deep meditation. Dur- 
ing this meditation he utters a soliloquif. 

GEORGE 
Beyond that peak, on the other side, lies 
the valley of content. Could I but bring 
myself to a determination to say good-bye 
to father, upon whom the years have left 
a back bent with age, and a head wrapped 
in locks of silv'ry gray. How can I leave! 
How can I go! And mother — how well I 
remember when she kissed me farewell! 
That last day! Those last words! What 
has home been since? What is home with- 
out a mother? Ah, if I could but follow my 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

desire, and satisfy that ever-present impulse 
to see the world, I feel that happiness would 
be mine. Boy that I am, I reaUze fulwell 
that herding sheep is like the man who 
stands aghast and allows chance after 
chance to pass. Beyond, I know a smiling 
world is beckoning me on. Fate can but 
speak; can she suppress that burning hope 
that causes man to act? To reach beyond 
and grasp the jewels that lie at hand? 
Would that I could be contented here. But 
I can't. 

FAIRY 
I feel that I can read your mind. 

GEORGE 
Fm sure that on it you would find 
All kinds of thoughts and hopes and fears, 

FAIRY 
Our fears build hopes throughout the years. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

GEORGE 

And yet each year means less to me; 
I seem to be less boy, less free. 

FAIRY 

George, I can feel within you creep 

That joy, that wish which makes you leap 

For gladness; you, who want to do 

To build a mansion firm and true. 

I'm with you, George, where plain meets hill, 

Where heart is touched by love's mad thrill 

Out where some spirit guides you on, 

Guides gently on, 

GEORGE 

Until 'tis done. 
Until a grander view is ours. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

FAIRY 
A pathway in a sea of flowers, 
Flowers that have plucked the rainbow hue, 
And washed themselves in cups of dew. 
Ah, George, you see beyond this life, 
Beyond this vale of earthly strife, 
And yet within you, at your hand, 
Lies all that Hves in any land. 
But you, my boy, list as I speak, 
There're ever joys for those who seek. 
Upon that lonely mountain side 
In regions where you are the guide 
You'll find a flower so grand and fair, 
There's not a hue on earth so rare. 
There's only one, but that one brings 
The treasures, joys, and wealth of kings. 
Look, seek, my boy, pass not this by. 
Seek near, seek far, great treasures lie 
At hand; set out this gem to find. 

GEORGE 
Tis but a jewel of a kind? 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 
FAIRY 

Tis but one kind. Within it dwells 
The bubbling power of living wells. 

GEORGE 
And are these treasures all my own? 

FAIRY 
They're yours, all of them, yours alone. 
Seek while the morning sun does shine; 
Seek that the mountain rose be thine. 

Curtain. 



ACT II— SCENE I 

Act II, Scene /, shows George still seeking for 
the rose. The fair^ comes to him. 

FAIRY 
Still you are seeking high and low, 
To find the treasured flower's glow. 
Nearby it smiles, somewhere it blooms, 
Scatt'ring aloft its sweet perfumes; 
The love for pleasure lures you on. 

GEORGE 
I've searched from sun to sun. 

FAIRY 

You've searched, but like the world about, 
Your searching has been done in doubt; 
The world has Uttle faith in things. 

GEORGE 
And still within it fair hope clings. 

FAIRY 
It clings, but like the shadows, fades. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

GEORGE 
And naught remains but merely shades? 

FAIRY 
No, no, my boy, 'tis more than dreams, 
Night scatters with the morning's beams, 
The morning's beams. 

GEORGE 

How grand are they 
Once they have driven night away. 

FAIRY 
But were it not for baneful night 
How could you love the morning hght? 

A chorus of beautiful voices is heard in the 
rear, coming seemingly over the hills. 
The fair^ disappears. 

GEORGE 
Hark, hark, I hear a sweet refrain 
The echoes of some moving strain 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

Like heavenly tones. Like tones above, 
They seem enclosed with chords of love, 
maker of such wondrous tones, 
Dost thou dwell here in earthly zones? 
In earthly zones where art is poor. 
Where you are but a madman's lure. 
End of Scene I 

George seats himself on another rock, while 
the chorus grows fainter and fainter 
until no sound is heard. Curtain. 



ACT II, SCENE II 
George is sleeping. The sun is setting. The 
fair^ comes in and observes the sleeping 
boy. 

FAIRY 
How now, how peacefully he sleeps; 
He slumbers while the treasure creeps 
Untouched in nature's wild domain. 
Bathing in sunshine and in rain. 
Seek, seek, within you lies the power. 
How can he seek at such an hour; 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

Nay. nay, he's sought the live-long day. 
He's but a boy — he loves to play. 
Farewell, dear child, hope lingers nigh; 
Hope leads to victory by and by. 

The fair^ holds out her hand toward the sleep- 
ing bop. This represents the world, 
which, having riches almost within its 
grasp, is still unable to realize the fact, 
and peacefullp, unconcernedli;, it slu m- 
bers on. After an extended pause, the 
curtain falls verp slowli;. 

After a brief period the curtain rises again. 
A stiff breeze is blowing, which, with the 
waving shrubbery, makes the moonshine 
verp effective. The Mating of sheep helps 
to create the atmosphere. A shepherd's 
horn sounds from the distance. The af- 
ter-effect of the echo is singular. 

George is sleeping. After a few momenta, he 
gets up, but soon goes back to sleep. He 
is restless, and talks in his sleep. He 
appears as one having a difficult problem 
on his mind. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

GEORGE 
How beautiful! How fair it gleams! 
It's mine! It's mine! Can it be true? 
Go on! Go on! Leave me alone! 
Where rings that bell? happy me! 
Curtain falls, while George is agitated. 



ACT II, SCENE III 
Earl^ morning. George awakes from his sleep 
and rubs his epes. 

GEORGE 
How fair the morning dawns. I feel 
Enraptured by its tingling peal. 
Some spirit whispers to my soul 
Today will bring me to my goal. 
It seems I found the treasured prize 
Lodged on a summit near the skies 
Upon the mountain's top-most peak 
It grew — it bloomed where none would seek. 
Pause .... The fairjf enters. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

FAIRY 
Ah, little George, fine is the morn; 
Fair gleams the day when fame was born. 
Up in some rocky cavern nook, 
Or close beside some babbling brook 
Our little flower might smile away. 

GEORGE 
Grow where we used to run and play. 

FAIRY 
And dreams sometimes tell secrets too; 
They tell if only people knew. 

In a rockp nook George finds the beautiful 
mountain rose for which he has sought 
so long, 

GEORGE 
Ah, there it is, how fair it gleams. 
No mortal ever dreamt such dreams. 
Sweet flower, the days Fve sought for thee 
Shall ever live in memory. 
Days that oft even lacked in hope; 
Days when I tramped the mountain's slope. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

FAIRY 

You've found the flower that brings you fame 
In friends, in riches, and in name. 
How tenderly it blooms; how rare 
Its fragrance on the desert air. 
Incessantly you've sought and sought 
Well-earned the honor it has brought. 

GEORGE 

The search is merrier than the prize. 
The child runs after butterflies. 
It loves the chase — it craves the fun 
It finds reward in what is done. 

FAIRY 

The goal is but a means to gain 
Those things in life worth while; in main 
We find that service is to live, 
To sacrifice, to do, to give. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

GEORGE 
And you have been so good to me 
Your watchful care meant victory. 
Without the helpful words you gave 
I'd still be but a drudging slave. 

Verp impressively George plucks the treas- 
ured prize. As he does so, a halo of 
light flash OS, indicating that some potent 
force is in action. Curtain, 

End of Act II 



ACT III 

This act opens with a magnificent scene, show- 
ing all kinds of riches in the ivap of sil- 
ver, gold, diamonds, and eoerjDthing that 
man could wish for. The flower has ac- 
complished this, because it represents 
the Dame of Fortune. The little fairp, as 
the moving force of the emotions, repre- 
sents the flower as the symbol of man's 
longings. George is the human world 
clamoring for the j'ops of life, but through 
these longings it forgets the essentials 
which made the present status possible. 
The cave is the ideal hope and desire of 
mankind. 

FAIRY 
There, George, you have your heart's desire 
You're master of a great empire. 
It's yours; you sought; you found the key, 
Pick what you want; take what you see. 
The birds are singing as you go; 
The flowers are happy, for they know 
That boundless wealth lies just ahead. 
Pick not those lures which time might shed 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

But as you follow in the quest, 
Be sure you don't forget the best. 
That little flower is e'er your friend. 
While it is yours, it will defend. 
It will protect you near and far, 
It leads you as a guiding star, 
A star which twinkles far away. 

GEORGE 
I scarcely know just what to say. 

FAIRY 
Ah, how it glitters, how it shines. 
That gold is from the choicest mines. 

George proceeds to fill his pockets. He has 
passed a large pile of copper and silver, 
because the gold was verg, very bright. 
George picks up the treasured rose and 
continues his Journeg through the cave of 
human desire. Thei; wander along slowly 
until thei) come to an enormous supplp 
of diamonds. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

FAIRY 
Ah, don't forget those grand old times, 
When you sang dear old shepherd rhymes; 
When father's love was ever near 
The old home ties you held so dear. 

A choir of harmonioua voices sings softly and 
loivlp. The scene is veri; touching be- 
cause George sees again in his reflections 
the little thatched cottage with its mea- 
ger equipment: the struggling parent, for 
whom the few remaining dai;s are num- 
bered; the mother of whom he thought so 
often, now sleeping on a deserted hill- 
side with but a tiny gravestone to mark 
her place. Even in the midst of a profu- 
sion of wealth, George feels unhappi) 
and he longs for the little shepherd 
abode, lowli) though it be. The fair}} 
tries to encourage him. 

FAIRY 
George, look, admire, put to the test; 
Choose, choose, but don't forget the best 
Whate'er your heart's desire may be. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

In his meditation George has forgotten his 
flower. The fairg has no right to tell him 
further than to suggest the fact to him. 
His impulsive enthusiasm, together with 
his reluctant longing for home, has stood 
out over his mind. Whether the forces 
of the good fairy have been counteracted 
hi) the delvings of an evil brother, is not 
developed, but the fact is George forgets 
the best. The good fairy does her ut- 
most to call him back. 

FAIRY 
Man's eyes are often blind to see 
And know those things which lie at hand, 
He longs to greet some foreign land; 
And oft the prize for which he fights 
Is lost in dizzy mountain heights. 

ACT III, SCENE II 
The glittering diamonds have taken George's 
mind off of everything except the thought 
that now he is immensely wealthy. He 
seems to have an attitude of indifference 
towards the kind fairy. He is no longer 
the same shepherd boy we saw on the 
rugged hillside. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

GEORGE 
Throughout this common stuff called gold, 
Still greater wealth lies in your fold — 
Lies at your door. These diamonds rare 
Are sparkling treasures everywhere. 

FAIRY 

They sparkle everywhere, but lest 
You pass along and leave the best: 
Look well once more, look well again 
Tis pitiful to work in vain. 

GEORGE 
To work in vain when riches lie 
Within the compass of your eye. 

George proceeds to empti) his pockets of the 
gold and exchange precious diamonds 
therefor. 

GEORGE 
Is this thing real? Am I awake? 

FAIRY 
It*s yours, dear George, it's yours to take. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

GEORGE 
It's mine! It's all my own I know 
From every crevice fountains flow. 
Look how they sparkle in the light! 

FAIRY 
They're precious in the stormy night. 

GEORGE 
Ah, wealth beyond the power of kings; 
It's wealth that comes from mortal things; 
They're riches that I longed for much, 
They come as if by Midas' touch; 
The scornful world lies far behind; 
It's lost its power to seek and find. 

George /s stuffing diamonds everywhere, and 
he has about completed matters. He is 
readp to go home and enj'op his new priv- 
ileges. 

GEORGE 
How now, I have my coffers filled. 

FAIRY 
Has every longing hope been stilled? 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

GEORGE 
Been stilled, and now the home-fires call. 
I must return to childhood's wall; 
I go; I bid farewell to thee; 
Wealth here lies endless as the sea. 

Both George and the fairy pause a moment to 
survep matters. George is ready now to 
depart from the cave of human desire. 
The fairy smiles in such a tender fashion 
that George is deeply touched. 

FAIRY 
The parting of the ways has come. 
You see again your cottage home; 
Farewell, my boy, and in your zest 
Be careful not to leave the best. 

As George, laden with his sparkling diamonds, 
steps out of the cave, he realizes that he 
has forgotten the little flower. As he 
does so, the fairy disappears, and in 
place of the diamonds, he finds dust. He 
sits down in despair and plans the jour- 
ney homeward. 



THE SHADOW OF CONTENT 

ACT III, SCENE III 

George at home. His father has died in the 
meantime, and he is a loneli; soul in the 
world. 

GEORGE 
Fool that I've been, 'twas but a dream 
I lived within that brilliant gleam; 
Man cannot even hope to share 
His building castles in the air. 
The fates of human hopes decree 
That man must always servant be. 
And though his hopes be far or near 
He rules but in an earthly sphere. 
I'm like an infant in the night, 
I'm searching for the light — the light. 






.1^^ 



^^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



015 898 419 2 



